Randy Barnes

Randy Barnes

Barnes at the UTEP Sierra Medical invitational meet in 1994
Personal information
Born June 16, 1966 (age 48)
Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.

Eric Randolph "Randy" Barnes (born June 16, 1966) is an American former shot putter who holds both the current outdoor and indoor world records for the event. He won silver at the 1988 Olympics and gold at the 1996 Olympics.

Barnes was born in Charleston, West Virginia,[1] grew up in nearby St. Albans, and began throwing shot put in high school. In 1985, he threw an impressive 66 ' 9.5" (20.36 m) with the prep shot of 12 lb (5.44 kg). After graduating from St. Albans High School in 1985, he attended Texas A&M University where he broke school records (set by Randy Matson) with a throw of 21.88 m (71 ft 9.5 in) with the 7.26 kg (16 lb) full size shot. While at A&M, Randy worked with hall of famer conditioning coach Istvan Javorek.

He went to the 1988 Seoul Olympics where he threw 22.39 m (73 ft 5.5 in) and earned a silver medal at only 22. He came second to Ulf Timmermann of East Germany, who threw 22.47 m.[1]On January 20, 1989, he set a new indoor world record at the Sunkist Invitational in Los Angeles with a put of 22.66 m (74 ft 4.25 in), which was better than his outdoor personal best at the time.[2]

On May 20, 1990, he broke Ulf Timmermann's outdoor record with a put of 23.12 m.[2] Barnes was banned from competing for 27 months after testing positive for the anabolic steroid methyltestosterone at a competition in Malmö, Sweden on August 7 that same year. He sued to have the suspension overturned, but lost. Due to the suspension, he was unable to compete in the 1992 Olympics.[3]

At the 1996 Olympic games, Barnes won the gold medal that eluded him 8 years earlier with a come from behind 21.62 m throw on his final attempt.[1] In 1998, he tested positive for androstenedione, an over-the-counter supplement (famously used by Mark McGwire) that is banned in track and field. Although Barnes claimed he didn't know androsten was banned, he was suspended from competition for life.[4]

As of 2014, both of Barnes's records still stand.[5] He recently became a long driving competitor, competing to hit a golf ball as far as possible; he qualified for the 2005 World Long Drive Championship.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Randy Barnes". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2015-01-18.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Randy Barnes. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-01-18.
  3. ↑ Hersh, Phil (1991-04-24). Track Panel Turns Down Barnes` Steroid Appeal. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2015-01-18.
  4. ↑ US athletics stars suspended. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2015-01-18.
  5. ↑ IAAF World Records. IAAF. Retrieved on 2015-01-18.
  6. ↑ Warters, Bob (2004-08-24). Golden Olympian's now a long driver. Golf Magic. Retrieved on 2015-01-18.

External links

Records
Preceded by
Ulf Timmermann		 Men's shot put world record holder
May 20, 1990–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent